In recognition of the desire for instructional staff of The Catholic University of America to continue to develop professionally, internal awards are available for non-tenure-track professors at all levels, as well as part-time lecturers possessing long-term relationships with the University. The purpose of these development awards is to provide financial funding to allow lecturers to pursue professional enhancement such as scholarly research or explore new instructional approaches.

Eligibility

  • Applicants cannot be on a tenure-track appointment. Grants to tenure-track appointment professors are covered by the Grant-in-Aid award program.
  • The applicant must be an employee of The Catholic University of America at the time the proposed funding will be used.
  • The applicant must have completed a minimum of 2 semesters of teaching at The Catholic University of America.
  • The applicant must have a letter of endorsement from the dean (or department chair in the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering).

Scope of the Awards

  • Funding can be used to support justified travel to attend teaching or research conferences or workshops. Travel can also be done for the purpose of collaboration.
  • Funding can support any aspect of a project during employment deemed necessary by the applicant, including but not limited to professional materials such as equipment, publications, or electronic services, conference/workshop registration fees, and subventions to support publication costs.
  • Funding cannot be used to support faculty salary or benefits or for work that is considered to be contrary to the mission of The University.

Grant Amount

Faculty development grant requests should be thoroughly justified. The maximal amounts available will vary from year to year depending on budget allocation, but will never exceed $2,500.00.

Proposal Structure

The proposal must be prepared using the Lecturer Development Grant application on the web site of the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Administration and Dean of Graduate Studies. This application is composed of the following sections:

  • Applicant Information, including Amount Requested;
  • Title of the Proposal Research;
  • Research Description (Abstract);
  • Dean (or department chair) endorsement letter.

Attached to the application should be a more detailed explanation of the proposed research project (typically 1 to 2 pages in length), including a detailed explanation of how the award will enhance the effectiveness of the lecturer's work.

In addition, the applicant should attach an abbreviated curriculum vitae showing recent scholarly output, publications, projects, or other academic activities pertinent to the proposed project. This CV should be no more than 3 pages in length.

Review and Grant Process

  • Applications are reviewed and endorsed by the relevant school dean (or department chair), and then forwarded for review to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research Support and Dean of Assessment.
  • Funding will be disbursed through the Office of the Vice Provost for Sponsored Research, Research Compliance, and Technology Transfer.
  • The award period is for no longer than four (4) months.
  • A full report on the outcomes of the funding must be reported to Office of the Vice Provost for Research Support and Dean of Assessment within six (6) months of the awarding of the grant.
  • Due to the limited financial resources of the Lecturer Development Grant program, all non-tenure-track professors and part-time lecturers are limited to one (1) grant award every thirty-six (36) months and no more than three (3) grant awards in a ten (10) year period.

Forms and Applications

Lecturer Development Grant Forms and Instructions can be found here in Adobe Acrobat format. These forms contain information about the appropriate use of funds, and instructions for completing the application for Lecturer Development grants.

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